My Inspiration
As a teen, I had two crutches that helped me walk my Mother's cancer journey with her; nature and art. When things got too heavy, I would disappear for hours on end to sit on a river bank or walk in the forest and just soak in the permanence and the ever evolving vastness of nature.
As an adult, I have had careers that put me close to people at points of crisis. I served in the military as an Airborne Ranger in a combat unit. I followed that with a 5 year stint as a police officer in the city of Seattle, including a year as a Domestic Violence Detective. Now, I work closely with families battling childhood cancer.
What I have learned during these interactions is that when things become so overwhelming that you are about to be swept away with the tide, you need to be reminded of your place in the world and regain perspective. Nothing can do that like nature. A sunset that only God could create. A river that keeps on churning no matter what, even when the surface is frozen, underneath it is still alive. The view of a vast landscape that just screams of permanence.
I try to express the lessons nature can teach us through my paintings.